Life

First Norwood Pride Event draws about 300 supporters

Organizers and supporters celebrate after organizing Norwood’s first ever Community Pride Event. This enthusiastic group were extremely pleased with how the celebration turned out as about 300 people attended the July 23 fun day to show their support for the area's LGBTQ community.
SPECIAL TO THE PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER

Rainbow banners and buntings fluttered in the breeze under a beautiful sunny day for the first Norwood Pride Event on July 23; held at the Norwood Legion. Organized as community fun day, the event was an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQ community in Asphodel-Norwood Township and revel in the village's rich diversity.

The very large and excited crowd of nearly 300 members, friends and supporters included many people from the village as well and people from Toronto to Ottawa and many places in-between.

Mayor Terry Low welcomed everyone to the village, commenting how encouraging it was to have such an event in the community, an event where anyone can come and be accepted regardless of whom they love or how they identify.

"We can't be anyone but who we were born to be," continued the mayor, "and I am certain given time we will all embrace that."

One of the organizers was particularly stuck by how happy and in some cases even emotional that the older gay people in attendance were; with a common thought that they didn't think they would ever see such an event happen in Norwood during their lifetime.

Several LGBTQ support agencies also attended with information booths, including PARN (Peterborough AIDS Resource Network) Rainbow Youth, PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), Peterborough Pride, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Westwood (which recently became the 170th Affirming Congregation in Canada). Local school teachers' unions including OSSTF (Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation) and Kawartha Pine Ridge Elementary Teachers Local (Part of the ETFO, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario) also had displays of information about their various support programs.

The idea of having a Pride Event in the village has actually been around for a while. However all the cards just fell into place this year and everything happened very quickly. Organizer Shane Hodge stated that a huge thank you is owed to the rest of the organizers and to the community for their phenomenal support and encouragement.

The success of the village's inaugural Pride celebration has planners already thinking of making it an annual event and possibly incorporating a parade into the festivities for next year. Rumour even has it that Norwood's success may spur other small communities in the area to hold similar events in their own towns in the future.

To simply say Norwood has pride would be an understatement; it would seem that we have a lot of it.

Hospice Hot Rods

The Hot Rods for Hospice fundraiser returns for a final gathering of classic vehicles and motorcycles on August 18 in the parking lot of the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre, the evening features music, food, draws prizes and lots of polished chrome. All proceeds will be going to the Norwood Hospice Project.